Halfway through the first set of the Jo Wilfried Tsonga vs Nick Kyrgios encounter, Eurosport analyst John McEnroe began lucubrating whether the pair were championship contenders or mere pretenders.
The former World No. 1 argued that having a fresh Grand Slam champion in Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev, or Kyrgios would be beneficial for tennis. Nevertheless, questioned their mental fortitude, or lack thereof. These three players boast an exciting shot-making ability, but are prone to suffering recurrent concentration lapses.
Lesser opposition may not be able to exploit that weakness, but going AWOL for a couple games during a match will not cut it against the top dogs.
There are merely two dozen players left in the Australian Open men’s singles draw. Who are the real contenders? Hint: Not many.
Rafael Nadal – The first seed is in scorching hot form, blowing past anyone across the net. He has not faced a real test yet, but Rafa is definitely a contender.
Diego Schwartzman – ‘El Peque’ survived an early scare versus Dusan Lajovic, but has upped his game in his two ensuing wins. Still, like the also undersized Dzumhur, the Argentinian should be easy prey for Nadal. Pretender.
Pablo Carreño – My countryman has reeled off three straight wins after mightily struggling since his US Open semifinal run. He lacks the firepower to hurt the real contenders. Pretender.
Marin Cilic – It is unlikely the Croatian will replicate his US Open 2014 form ever again. I don’t see him moving past Nadal in the quarters. Pretender.
Grigor Dimitrov – The Haskovo native is far from his ATP World Tour Finals self, struggling to defeat former college standout “Mackie” McDonald. Upending Andrey Rublev in four sets is a good start, but Dimitrov has been unable to beat Nadal, Federer, or Djokovic throughout his career (2-22 against them). Provided he edges Kyrgios, he would need extra help. Pretender.
Nick Kyrgios – Last year, he would have lost his third round match versus Tsonga. Without a doubt. Instead, he overcame several highly complicated situations, which leads me to think Kyrgios is ready to challenge for the title. My gut feels he is a full-on Contender.
Kyle Edmund – His improvement of late deserves a round of applause, but we are talking about winning Grand Slams here. Pretender.
Andreas Seppi – I wrote yesterday how remarkably consistent the Italian has been in Melbourne and he won a marathon match against Ivo Karlovic, but again, this is a different league than the Canberra Challenger. Pretender.
Dominic Thiem – As far as I know, the Australian Open is not played on clay. End of the story. Pretender.
Adrian Mannarino – I remember seeing 16-year-old Mannarino in my hometown back in 2004. It was his third-ever Futures event. He lost handily in qualifying. Would have never guessed he’d go this far, but I will not get carried away by emotions. A clear pretender.
Maximilian Marterer – He was winless at tour level before this fortnight. Pretender.
Tennys Sandgren – He is a contender for the most fun name, but a huge pretender when discussing Grand Slam titles.
Novak Djokovic – A six-time champion will always be a contender. No further explanation needed.
Albert Ramos – Has never won a set against Djokovic. Has never been a force on hard. Pretender.
Hyeon Chung – While I rate the Korean very highly, I doubt he is consistent enough to go all the way yet. But Sascha better watch out if he wants to avoid another early exit. Dangerous pretender.
Alexander Zverev – The non-Slam numbers suggest he may be the next tennis superstar, but the German phenomenon has not backed up the hype with a deep run yet. Given his tricky draw ahead, I’d count him out of the race. Pretender.
Julien Benneteau – The 36-year-old will not win his maiden ATP title at Melbourne Park. Let’s not kid ourselves. Pretender.
Fabio Fognini – There is a 0.00001% chance he catches fire and reaches the final or so, but he is perhaps the most mentally volatile of them all. Pretender.
Tomas Berdych – Hell of a career, Tomas! Notwithstanding, the Czech is way over the hill. Pretender.
Juan Martin del Potro – The Tandil Tower needs to be in top shape to challenge for trophies. The excruciating heat in Australia is a red flag against him, but he would play more night matches going forward should he keep advancing. Contender.
Marton Fucsovics – The last time I checked, this article was not about the 2010 Wimbledon boys title. Props on the ascent to the Top 100 though! Pretender.
Nicolas Kicker – Please collect your third or fourth round check and have a safe trip back home. Pretender.
Richard Gasquet – Someone who loses in straights to a poor man’s Federer in Greek young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas two weeks ago should pose a threat to the original Swiss in Melbourne. Pretender.
Roger Federer – The defending champion is supposed to be a contender, isn’t he? Considering the Rod Laver Arena is fairly quick, he is my pick to win it all.
